May 06, 2008

Comments Sought on Proposed Amendment to Rule 2.11

Virginia State Bar Council To Review A Proposed Amendment To Rule 2.11 Of The Rules Of Professional

Pursuant to Part Six: Section IV, Paragraph 10(c) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Virginia State Bar Council, at its meeting on June 19, 2008, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is expected to consider for approval, disapproval, or modification, a proposed amendment by the Standing Committee on Legal Ethics to Rule 2.11 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

RULE 2.11

It came to the attention of the Ethics Committee that Rule 2.11 Comment [9] includes a reference to Rule 2.2 which no longer exists. Rule 2.2 was deleted by Supreme Court Order, September 24, 2003; the purpose of the deletion was to remove ambiguity, as first developed in the Ethics 2000 initiative, of coverage and the resulting confusion between Rule 1.7’s application to joint representations and Rule 2.2’s application to the lawyer’s role as intermediary. As the two contexts are indistinguishable, all such situations are now being handled in one rule, i.e., Rule 1.7. Further, the terms “Intermediary” and Intermediation” no longer exist. Therefore, the Ethics Committee is proposing an amendment to Rule 2.11 Comment [9], which deletes reference to Rule 2.2 and clarifies the reference to Rule 1.7 and “common representation.” The amendment also removes all references to the lawyer’s role as intermediary.

Inspection and Comment

The proposed amendment may be inspected at the office of the Virginia State Bar, 707 East Main Street, Suite 1500, Richmond, Virginia 23219-2800, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Copies of the proposed amendment can be obtained from the offices of the Virginia State Bar by contacting the Office of Ethics Counsel at 804-775-0557, or can be found at the Virginia State Bar’s website at http://www.vsb.org

Any individual, business or other entity may file or submit written comments in support of, or in opposition to, the proposed amendment by filing ten copies with Karen A. Gould, the Executive Director of the Virginia State Bar, not later than June 6, 2008.
Updated: May 06, 2008